by A.J. Wood

Tragedy Over Texas – Shuttle Columbia

I guess nobody except Dawn blogs on the weekend. Michelle & I have been on the road since 7:30am this morning and we were almost out of Dallas when the Space Shuttle Columbia passed over the city.

It wouldn’t be until 9am that we would receive a call from Diana (Michelle’s sister) that NASA had lost all contact with the shuttle crew. At that time there was only speculation as to what might be happening. We did learn that this mission was notable in that the first Israeli astronaut was onboard.

We spent the next five hours listening to any AM radio station we could grab as we headed south on I-35 towards Corpus Christi. For hours, all reports were the same, contact had been lost with the shuttle & crew, first person sightings were being called in from Dallas/Fort Worth and debris had been found in east Texas specifically Nacogdoches, TX.

These are pictures that are available now. I would think that people have heard the news by now, but as this was a routine mission most of the nation probably spent the morning going about their daily routine.

The timing of this tragedy is unbelievable. Only days after the anniversary of the Challenger explosion. It will be interesting to see the impact on the space program and future funding.

As I clack away online, the TV’s on in the background. Our hearts & prayers go out to the families of the shuttle team.

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 by A.J. Wood

Another round of Christmas

Well, this Christmas has been excellent so far. There was a last minute change of plans so Michelle & I spent the weekend with my parents and caught up with my sister Lesli & her friend Matt who were in town from Seattle. Lesli & Matt had to fly home today so we had an early celebration.

It was a relaxing weekend which left everyone stuffed from my mother?s AMAZING culinary skills. Highlights from the weekend included watching Dallas lose to Philadelphia (a third string quarterback no less and why aren’t they playing Emmitt more?) and we watched The Lord of The Rings “Fellowship of the Ring” on VHS with Spanish subtitles. Apparently Matt missed the VERY TINY print on the side of the box when he bought this gift for my folks.

It was great to see Lesli as Christmas is really the only planned get-together we have each year. My sister is now attending law school and I?m sure it?s just a matter of time before she dives head first into politics. Her band Ms. Led is also doing incredibly well having just released their third CD Afternoon In Central Park this month.

Michelle was anticipating her first White Christmas, but so far the weather has been mild. Fortunately, my parents live in the northern part of the state so we did get to see some beautiful country-side, but no snow angels, or snowball fights just yet. I took a bunch of pictures of black squirrels, doves and other wildlife all gathering behind my parent?s house. Will post the new photos when Michelle & I return home.

It was just too much of a hassle to change out our flight so Michelle & I are in town until Thursday. With the family weekend over, we decided to crash at Ron?s place and try and see our friends here in the metro area. Should be fun as we get to do another round of gift-giving.

Of course, we want to hurry home as there?s a madpony gift & two copies of Tony?s new book waiting for us.

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 by A.J. Wood

Are We There Yet?

So it only took twelve hours to get home from Corpus Christi. That’s about four hours more than Michelle or I needed this evening. Not only did we miss tonight’s episode of Alias, but we literally parked on the highway for 30 minutes increments all the way from San Antonio `til Dallas.

I thought about ranting on this subject at great length, but I’m just pissed and quite frankly exhausted from the drive. Tomorrow should be a better day.

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 by A.J. Wood

And Life Goes On…

Being unemployed isn’t any fun, but it isn’t the end of the world either. I should know, I’ve been down that road twice now. The first time I was laid off (two years ago) came just as the Internet bubble was starting to crack. I had moved from Phoenix to Dallas on the promise of a high-paying consulting gig and I thought the gravy train had finally come in for me. My first mistake was celebrating like I had just won the lottery – I immediately moved into a house, bought a new truck and a brand new jetski. I hadn’t been in Dallas six months when the layoffs began.

At first, the work sabbatical was great. Then I decided I should think about a regular gig. I quickly discovered a technology market that wasn’t in a hurry to hire me and if anyone made an offer it was one-third the salary I had received just months before. When two months turned into four, I found my happy-go-lucky attitude change into a little desperation. During that brutal reality check I lost my house, the truck, but I managed to refinance the jetski (God’s wicked sense of humor given the fact I have nothing to tow it with).

I managed to land a new job which consumed all my free time. At first I didn’t mind, I saw the position as an opportunity to grow with a company and build an IT infrastructure from the ground up. But then came the endless complaints, long hours, last minute projects, and more complaints. I found myself becoming more irritated with each passing day. While I didn’t have any issues with the people I worked with, there was something just itching beneath the surface, gnawing at me.

I resided myself to the fact the everybody hates their job and when (if) the tech sector showed improvement I would look for something different. Well a year later the market didn’t improve and I found myself at the mercy of yet another company layoff. While I was caught completely unaware once the shock wore off I was quite relieved. Any pressure I felt on the job went away the moment I didn’t have to jump out of bed when my alarm clock went off.

I made use of the downtime by maintaining a schedule. I found I actually got up earlier than I ever did when I worked. I got back to the gym, started eating better and my relationship with my then-girlfriend (now fianc?) improved dramatically as well. Many of the projects I put off because I seemingly had no time, I made time for.

That was the moment that my destiny once again became my own. You see, I really don’t like the IT industry. Sure I may be good at it, but who wants all the pressure of user complaints, long hours and absolutely no job satisfaction. It’s not that I find people who are computer illiterate utterly annoying, I’m just amazed how trivial management makes my job seem when I save their @ss all the time. With a 24% unemployment rate here in Dallas I don’t know when I’ll return to the tech sector (if ever). However, I’m certain my next thirty years will be just as exciting as the first.

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